Signaling apparatus.



W. L. MQWHORTER.

SIGNALING APPARATUS. APPLIUATION FILED MAY18,1907.

Attorney" PATENTED DEC. 17, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 PATENTED 1150.17,,1907.

' ,w. L; M O-WHORTER.

SIGNALING AP APPLICATION: FILED PA'RATUS. MAY 18, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED WIL IAM L MCwHonrEa, or STERLING, ILLINOIS.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SIGNALING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17. 190?v Application filed May 18.-1907. Serial No'.'3'74,345.

T cell whom it may concern: v Be it known that I, WILLIAM L; "Mc- WHQRTER, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Sterling, in the county of WVhiteside and State of'Illinois, have invented cer tain new and useful Im rovement'sin Signaling Apparatus; and do hereby declare .-the,following to bea full, clear, and exact de- I theletters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this. specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in signaling apparatus for use upon cars, automobiles, boats, etc., the pur pose of the invention being to indicate at a distance the speed at which the car or other movable object to which the device is at.

tached is running, and also to determine in which direction the movable object is travel ing.

The invention comprises various details of construction and combinations and arrange- Y ments of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

I illustrate my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical through a car, showing my invention as applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the rotatable signal casing, and Fig. 3 is a'sectional view taken in a plane at right angles to the plane in which Fig. 2 is illustrated.

Reference now being had to the details o the drawings by letter, A designates the plat form of a car having a shaft B mounted in suitable bearings thereon and which shaft is I in its vertical movements.

adapted to be driven by a car axle not shown.

A pulley B is fixed to said shaft and a belt B passes about the latter and is designed to be driven by an axle. Mounted at any suitable location upon the upright portion of the car is a longitudinally movable plate E hav ing slotsE at the ends thereof, and F designates screws'which are fastenedto the upright ortion of the frame and pass through said 5 ots' and are adapted to ide the plate "designates a spring, one end of which is fixed to said plate and its other endfastened to the frame of the car, the purpose of, said spring being nor sectional View jar to the casing and its contents.

. frame of the car and provided with a handle 0 whereby said lever may be swung down so that its cam will contact with the top of the plate to throw the same to its lowest limit, whereby the belt -D will be slack and not be driven by said shaft. Said casing is mounted to rotate upona central axis M carried by said plate and is provided with a =en- .tral partition Q and two spring-actuated hinged lid sections J, each of which is provided with an opening J Pivotally moun ted upon pins I carried by the bottom of said casing are the open-ended cup-shaped shells L, in each of which is mounted an approximately semi-cylindrical weight member T adapted to hold said cup-shaped members from rotation as the casing rotates. Upon each of said weight members is adapted to be positioned a lantern, the light of which is adapted to .be disclosed opposite the adjacent opening in the lid section. Mounted upcmthe screw at the lower end of the plate is a buffer W adapted to prevent the casing jarring in the event of the plate carrying the same being thrown to its. lowest limit, and pins P project from the lower end of said plate and are adapted to contact with said buffer as the plate returns to its normal position, thus serving to prevent unnecessary In operation, for instance if, the device is attached to a train which is traveling at the rate of sixty miles an hour, the casing would be given one rotation every two seconds, and if going at different rates of speed, for instance, thirty miles an hour; the casing would be given one turn for every founseconds, and so on'according to the. speedat which the train is traveling. When the signals'are equipped with white lights, they are positioned upon the train so that they may e visible in advance of the train'and when that the train is backing up. When the apparatus is equipped with colored lights and positioned so as to be viewed from the rear of the train and if the device rotates to the right, it will indicate that the train is moving from the point of vision and, ,when rotatin in the opposite direction or to the left, it wil indicate that the train is backing toward the point of vision.

It will thus be seen thet by the provision of a visual signaling apparatus as shown and described, the 1 observer mayreadily deter: mine by noticing thefrotatable signal at a distance, the speed at which the train is moving and as to whether or not it is travel ing to or from the observer. If not moving, the indication will be that the train is at a stand-still.

While I have shown my invention as applied to a car, it will be, understood that it will be equally well adapted for use in con- .nection' with automobiles, boats and.ve-

hicles of various descriptions, the apparatus being given'a rotary movement by belted connection with some driving part of the vehicle.

What I claim i -1. A visualsignaling apparatus for cars, automobiles, ete., comprising, in combination with a rotatable. shaft, a rotary casing having openings ther'ein, whereby lights may be disclosed therefrom, connections between said shaft and casing for rotating the latter,

and means for lowering said casing to throw the same out of operative connection with said shaft, as set forth.

2. A visual signaling apparatus for cars,v

automobiles, etc. comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a rotary casing having openings therein, whereby lights may be disclosed therefrom, connections between said shaft and casing for rotating the'latter,

a spring-pressed member upon. which said casing is mounted, and means for moving said member, whereby it will be thrown out of o erative connection with said shaft, as

set orth.

v 3. A visual signaling apparatus for cars', automobiles, ctc., comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a rotary casing having openings therein, whereby lights may be disclosed therefrom, connections between said shaft and casing for rotating the latter, a plate upon which said casin is rotatably mounted, a spring adapted to hold said plate at its highest throw, and a lever adapted to bear against the plate to move the same downward against the tension of said spring,

erative connection with said shaft, as set .forth. I

automobiles, etc, comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a rotary casing having openings therein, whereby lights may be disclosed therefrom, connections between said shaft and casing for rotating the latter, a plateupon whichsaid casing is rotatably mounted, a spring adapted to hold said plate at its highest throw, and a cam lever pivotally connected independent of the plate and adapted to bear against the end of the latter,

tension of the spring-to which it is connected, as set forth.

5. A visual signaling apparatus comprising, in combination with a car having a rotarotatable easing mounted thereon and provided with openings to disclose lights therethrough, belted connection between said shaft and casing, said plate having slots therein, pins projecting from the ear frame and disposed in said slots, whereby the plate may be guided, a bull'er'fixed to the frame, and projections upon said plate adapted to contact with said buffer, as set forth.

6. A visuals'ignaling apparatus comprising, in combination with a car having a driven shaft, a vertically disposed plate, at

having a grooved way about its circumferencc, means for moving said plate long1tud1 nally, a belt passing about a'grooved way on weighted cups carried. by said casing and adapted to hold lights to be disclosed at openings formed in the casing, asset froth,

7. A visual signaling apparatus comprising, in combination with a car having a driven shaft, a rotatable casing, belted connections between the same. and said-shaft, weighted cups pivotally mounted upon said with an opening designed to disclose lights carried by said cups, asset forth.

In testimony whereof I. hereunto allix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

\VILLTAM li. hloWllOlillCR. Witnesses:

W. B. CARoLUs, JOHN A. WARD.

whereoy the casing may be thrown out of op- 4. A visual signaling apparatus for cars,

whereby the plate may be moved against the casing, and lids to said casing provided each table shaft, a longitudinallymovable plate, a

rotatable casing mounted upon said plate l the casing and'about said shaft, and pivot 

